DENTAL CLINIC BITES DRUG DEALERS

BELOIT, Wis. -- To a casual observer, the rural dental clinic on the
outskirts of this city 100 miles northwest of Chicago suddenly had a
group of new patients: a dozen young men and women in scruffy garb.
And judging by their frequent trips to the clinic, beginning in
mid-September, they all had bad teeth.

In reality, they actually were biting down hard on a festering crime
problem fueled by a pair of illicit "open air" drug markets.

The clinic was a front, part of an undercover sting run by the
"patients," a mix of federal agents, local officers and state police
from Illinois and Wisconsin. Using the clinic as a headquarters, they
posed as drug figures to infiltrate a loose-knit ring of crack cocaine
dealers.

On Wednesday, Beloit authorities announced results of the 11-week
sting, during which 27 suspected drug traffickers and their sources of
supply in Chicago, Rockford and Madison, Wis., had been taken off the
streets and jailed.

"It isn't every day that small and mid-size cities make this sort of
positive impact on crime," said Police Chief Richard Thomas.

The covert police action is over for now, but efforts involving
neighborhood residents, social agencies and City Hall enforcement of
building codes to improve quality of life are being readied in Beloit,
a manufacturing and farm center of 36,000 residents.

Jane Wood, Beloit city manager, and Thomas say that they intend to
implement an aggressive drug and gang-abatement program over the next
3 to 5 years, with 44 "initiatives" that include the participation of
civic groups, business and elected officials.

A "Community Bill of Rights" generally prohibits prosecutors from
engaging in plea bargaining in cases of drugs, gangs and hate crimes.

"Now we have the evidence, and we want to expose the problem of drugs
and gangs," Thomas said. "We don't want to hide it under the table."

Thomas said he was "shocked by the extent of drug trafficking"
uncovered by his officers, who worked with a bi-state narcotics unit
and agents of one of the government's most successful weapons against
drug traffickers in small to mid-size communities.

Known as Mobile Enforcement Teams, the agents spend up to 90 days in
each town, gathering evidence and then joining with police to make
arrests.

Bill Morley, a Drug Enforcement Administration official from Chicago,
said the agency would review Beloit crime statistics over the next six
months to gauge the effect of the announced crackdown.

Drug activity came to Beloit, officials said, because it is near
interstate highways linking it with larger urban areas.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady